ContainerUIWeb

A web-based desktop environment for managing Docker containers. This project simulates a native OS experience (Ubuntu-style) within a browser, interacting with the underlying container via a Python FastAPI backend.

🚀 Features & Implementation Status

Core Desktop Shell

Feature	Status	Description
Desktop Environment	✅ Done	Ubuntu-style wallpaper (Mesh Gradient), draggable icons.
Taskbar	✅ Done	Bottom bar with "Show Applications" grid, window tabs, clock.
Start Menu	✅ Done	Full-screen App Grid overlay with search bar.
Window Manager	✅ Done	Draggable, resizable, minimize/restore, focus management, dynamic sizing.
Extension Support	✅ Done	Sandboxed IFrame architecture allowing third-party apps to run safely.

Applications

App	Status	Description
File Explorer	✅ Done	Real file system browsing, properties pane, file operations, and compression/decompression (.zip) support.
Terminal	✅ Done	Real backend execution, directory navigation, and OS-specific command translation.
Process Manager	✅ Done	Real-time system process monitoring using live backend data with kill functionality.
Service Manager	🚀 In Progress	Real-time system service monitoring using live backend data with start/stop functionality.
Text Editor	✅ Done	Fully functional with Open/Save/Save As dialogs connected to backend.
Browser	✅ Done	Iframe-based internal browser with address bar, bookmarks support, and limitation warnings.
Calculator	✅ Done	Fully functional standard calculator.
Settings-Personalization	✅ Done	Customize desktop background (color, uploaded images, or system files) with persistence.
Settings-Default Apps	✅ Done	Default Apps tab to set default apps for file types. It provides option to map file extensions to apps and set default app from mapped apps for each file extension.
Settings-Backup Restore User Data	✅ Done	Ability to export user data from the container to the host which includes settings, file type associations, wallpapers, extensions, bookmarks etc. Also, it provides option to import user data from the host to the container through similar zip file.
File Transfer	✅ Done	Ability to transfer files between the container and the host through a file transfer app which uploads to a fixed location(folder - filetransfers/upload) in the container and downloads files from a fixed location(folder - filetransfers/download) in the container.
Extensions	✅ Done	Manager app to install (.zip) extensions along with file type associations. Remove extension and file type associations.

Available Extensions

Check Available Extensions folder for available extensions.

Extension	Description
Text Editor	Monaco Editor based text editor to the system.
Sample Extension	A sample extension to demonstrate the extension architecture.

System & Theme

Feature	Status	Description
Ubuntu Theme	✅ Done	Aubergine/Orange palette, font styling, scrollbars.
Responsiveness	✅ Done	Desktop adapts layout to browser window size.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• Node.js & Angular CLI (for development)
• Docker & Docker Compose (optional, for containerized run)

Quick Start (Docker)

1. Navigate to the Backend directory:

   cd Backend

2. Run with Docker Compose:

   docker-compose up --build

3. Open your browser at http://localhost:8000.

Manual Setup

Backend

1. Navigate to Backend:

   cd Backend

2. Install dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Run the server:

   python main.py

Frontend

1. Navigate to Frontend.
2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Build the Angular app (outputs to Backend static folder):

   ng build

4. Access via the Backend URL default http://localhost:8000.

🔮 Future Roadmap

• Theming: Ability to select from standard list of themes and apply to the desktop via settings.
• Log Engine: Ability to log system events, app logs, and other events in the container through a common log engine.
• Logger: Ability to view logs in the container through a logger app.
• Extensions: Add more extensions to the system.
  • Advanced Image Manager: Add advanced image manager to the system.
  • Log Streamer (Log Viewer): A dedicated app to view .log files in real-time (like tail -f), with search, filter, and color-coding (highlight "ERROR" in red).
  • Network Request Tester (Postman Lite): An app to make HTTP requests (GET/POST) to other services.
  • Markdown / Documentation Viewer: A split-pane editor: Raw Markdown on the left, Live HTML Preview on the right.
  • JSON Viewer: A collapsible tree view for .json config files.
  • SQLite Viewer: A table view to browse .sqlite or .db files often found in app containers.